After being out in front of the goal, Greenville keeper LandonTheriault got back in time to make a save in front of Carrabec’s Jackson Newton during the 8-person South regional championship Tuesday in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

AUGUSTA — It had been so close yet so far for the Greenville boys soccer team in five tries against Carrabec since the introduction of the eight-player game last year.

With a regional championship on the line in a sixth showdown Thursday, one goalkeeper took the Lakers to the brink of getting over the hump Tuesday. Then, on penalty kicks, another took them to glory.

No. 2 Greenville defeated top-ranked Carrabec 2-1 (6-5 on penalties) Tuesday to dethrone the Cobras as eight-man Small School South champions. The win came as Liam Mason made two key saves on penalty kicks after Landon Theriault helped the Lakers get there with his performance in regulation.

“It’s been an unreal rivalry with these guys over the past two seasons,” said Mason, whose team advanced to Saturday’s state final against Piscataquis. “The games were closer this year, so we knew we had a chance to win if we came in and played hard, and that’s what all of our guys did.”

Logan Adrien scored the go-ahead goal for Greenville (15-2-0) with 15:11 left in the first half before Michael Steuber tied it for Carrabec with 15:55 left in the second. After two scoreless overtime periods, it took two rounds of penalties for the Lakers to hand the Cobras (13-3-1) their first loss in eight-player soccer (two losses this year were vs. 11-man foes).

“They’re a great team; they possess the ball really well,” Greenville head coach Ryan Bolen said of Carrabec. “We’ve been close with them so many times, but it’s been a struggle with them, and we just couldn’t get over the top. Today, we did it, and it feels good to finally get over the top.”

After Greenville was hot to start the game, producing two scoring chances after Carrabec’s Seth Price had to leave temporarily with an injury. The Cobras recovered to control the next 15 minutes, but with just under 16 to go in the half, Adrien scored on a header to put the Lakers in front.

Carrabec continued to apply pressure, and with regulation set to enter the final quarter-hour, Steuber found the equalizer. The goal was served on a silver platter for the sophomore, who found wide-open space following a pass from Price and rolled the ball into an open net.

After a key save from Theriault on a long-range shot forced overtime, the sophomore made a diving stop with nine minutes left in the first period of added time. Mason then came on for penalties, making a key stop as the first round ended 3-3 to force another set of five kicks per team.

“(We felt Liam gave us) more experience, more reach and more jump,” Bolen said of the switch. “He’s a senior, and Landon is only a sophomore. Liam plays keeper in southern Maine in the offseason, so he can do that. It was really about that experience.”

Both teams missed to open that second round before Greenville took the lead on an Ethan Brown make and Carrabec miss. Both teams then made their eighth and ninth kicks before misses on the final two sank the Cobras. 

Mason’s experience as a travel goalkeeper, like Bolen said, was exactly what his team needed in such a critical moment. Still, it was a high-pressure situation for the senior, who had to keep his composure for a save on Carrabec’s seventh shot that ended up preserving the victory.

“I’ve faced penalties before, but man, there’s something about a Southern Maine championship game,” Mason said. “It’s such a relief. We’ve been dreaming of this since freshman year, and now, we have one more to go and can hopefully come away with that Gold Ball.”